Body armor of the type to which the invention relates is worn adjacent the area of the body to be protected. If that area is the spinal column, the armor is worn on the back, next to the body, and protects it against shocks and impact which could damage the spinal column. This sort of armor is suitable for high-risk occupations and especially for motorcycle drivers who are subject to high accident risk, very often experiencing injuries to the spinal cord in accidents which commonly result in tragic paralysis.
The injuries to the spinal cord resulting from such an accident commonly have one of two causes. One type of injury involves impact by a relatively pointed object which can destroy the spinal cord. The other form of injury involves overextension in a backward direction which can break the spinal column and cord. Thus, to be effective, body armor worn to protect this region must be able to protect against blows by pointed objects and also against overextension of the spinal cord.
A body armor structure of this general type is shown in German Utility Patent No. 84 26 849. That construction provides for a series of adjacent shock resistant plates which spread the effect of point impacts over a broad region so that the spinal cord itself is not subjected to the pointed strike. In order to protect the spinal cord against overextension, the plates are positioned flat against the back in the longitudinal direction of the spinal column and are connected to a flexible fabric which holds the plates together, the fabric being in contact with the body. The plate-fabric configuration can thus be bent to the front, allowing the wearer to bend over during which space forms between the impact plates. However, an effort to bend backwardly to an excessive degree causes the plates to abut each other and, with the fabric, prevent bending in the wrong direction.
However, this design has certain disadvantages. One is that the armor is uncomfortable to wear because the design does not allow for lateral motions of the spinal cord. The motorcycle driver, for example, cannot bend over to the side to view the engine or open the gas tank. Secondly, the protective effect of this design is achieved only under ideal conditions because it presupposes an extremely rigid fabric and a firm connection between the plates and the fabric. Thus, this design is very expensive and can become unreliable if used for a long period of time.